The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1887-03-31

Thu b the latest but 60 Il IL 0uo9t = Cas
Ivan operas, and he's achieved : gleatsr pope.
larity than any sncs tho days of "Paancs"
Al II win skortly - psr1brmed hsrs By ma
teurs, the following sksscA Of the action may b
Of interest to our readera.
The scene b laid In Japan, In The town Of
Titipu, . place whieh, It 10 needless 70 ~,
exists only In the fertile Imagination sf Ar. "
a Gilbert The actors wear japanese dress. b1t
very little attempt IL made to produce an illusion
of japanese life in fact, the humor q TIE paecs
oonsists chiefly In representing Japs with the.
ideas and language Of the modern Englishman.
The Miksdo or Emperor Of Japan b . rssOrmer,
and has Just made law that any unmarried
man guilty Of flirting shall strsightway b De-
headed The frst person convicted OF thh crime
u q tailor named Ko.Ko. The japanese mobiles
then, BY some unexplained means. make him
executioner, reasoning that he would have to
behead himself before he could decapitate any
ono else. 80 Ko-Ko IL raised to the highest po-
sition in the State, and al the other officials
resign In disgust, their Offices arc all given to
Pooh. Bah, who thus becomes lord High
Everything Else" Pooh-Bah 10 nobleman
who processes to DO very proud Of his ancestry,
and assumes an extremely naughty carriage,
but 10 reality his ruling passion 10 avsrice, and
he never loses an opportunity to hint that he
wants bride.
The heroine of the play Is Yum Yum, girl
just out Of school, who 10 engaged to ko-Ko bat
in love with Nanki-Poo. Nanki-Poo 10 the
Mikados son. His father, desiring him 10 marry
Kati-Sha, q Grabbed old maid of the court he
fees, and at tho opening Of the play appears dis
guised IS strolling musician. During this
inocg,sis0 period he has met and fallen 10 love
with Yum-Y He inquiries OF the chorus
where she IL to be found. Pooh.Bah tells him
she 10 10 marry Ko-Ko that afternoon, and for
further Information refers him to the Lord High
Executioner himself, who presently enters with
q great flourish of trumpets and sings . comic
song about the public nuisances. whom he has
put on the list for execution.
Then enters the chorus of little girls heralding
Yum-Yum and her school fellowA Peep Bo
and Pitti-Sing, after some very pretty music
they retire, leaving Yum Yum and Nanki Poo
to a very absurd scene of hypothetical love
making. That is, they say and do what they
would do if YUM Yum were not engaged TO
Ko-Ko
Meanwhile a message arrives from the Mikado
ordering Ko-K o to perform an execution. As he
can't induce Pish- Tush or Pooh Bah to accept
the honor, he 10 In despair at the thought Of suf
fering himself At this point Nanki-Poo enters.
Driven to desperation at the: thought of losing
Yum. Yum, he is about to perform the happy
dispatch" with . rope. Ko-Ko has happy
thought. He makes an agreement with Nanki-
Poo to resign Yum Yum to him for a month.
At the end of this honeymoon Ko.Ko is to have
Yum-Yum again, and Nanki-Poo is to be be-
headed in his stead. This ingenious scheme il
frustrated by the appearance of Kiti-6ha, who
claims Nanki-POo. As the others pay no atten-
ton to her violence, she goes of in rage to
complain of her wrongs TO the Mikado.
In the second act Yum Yum has discovered
that when her husband 10 killed, according to
Japanese law she will have to be buried alive.
This she rightly looks upon az . difficulty. 10.
Ko, afraid of losing his substitute, hits upon an
other great scheme. He sends Yum-Y and
and her lover of to be married, and when the
Mikado with Kat-Sha enters, hands him q paper
witnessed also by Pooh Bah and Pitti- Sing,
describing how Nanki-Poo had been executed.
Now il comes to light that Nanki-Poo is the
heir to the throne. At first things look dark for
the cOnsprators but presently Nanki-Peo turns
up again alive and well. BY . curious process
Of reasoning found only in Gilbertian libreti the
Mikado is satisfied. Kati-6ha consoles herself BY
marrying Ko-Ko, and the finale of the second
act. Is a. merry as that of the first.